December 20, 2007

No coal – DVDs Santa should bring me

What am I hoping Creepy Claus has in his bag this year? He’s going to need a big bag ‘cuz I got a big list . . .

DVDs

It’s almost all about DVDs, especially TV-on-DVD, this year, a real rarity for me.

2001: A Space Odyssey (Special Edition) – Absolute must-have after receiving the “special edition” treatment this year. Quite possibly my favorite movie of all time, and the fact that this version has extras makes it even better. GOT

The Shining (Special Edition) – Besides Misery, this is probably the best Stephen King film adaptation ever, and also equally the best book. It doesn’t follow said book so closely toward the end, and maybe you could argue with the choice of the already maniacal Jack Nicholson in the role of a man who is supposed to gradually go insane, but with a movie this great, those are minor gripes. GOT

In fact, when the box came out a couple months back, it made just as much sense to buy that instead and get 3 extra films (Eyes Wide Shut, Full Metal Jacket, and the Kubrick documentary, A Life In Pictures) for just a few dollars more on Amazon than buying the above three separately. (I also have to admit that am slightly embarassed to say I’ve never actually seen Full Metal Jacket. Eyes Wide Shut was actually not a bad film at all, just misunderstood. And it also had Nicole Kidman at the peak of her icy hotness.)

Northern Exposure (Complete Series) – This is one of those shows that I fell in love with back when it aired in the early 90s, and I’ve been eying the individual season sets for a couple years now (and I’ll ignore the whole “original music has been replaced issue” – it’s just the way things are going to be with some series. Life goes on.) Now that the whole series is in one place, it makes a lot more sense to just buy them all together, even though you do get that dreary final season where Rob Morrow decided he was a really hot actor right on the verge of a huge film career and abandoned the show mid-season. Boy did he learn.

Dr. Katz Professional Therapist – I never watched this while it was on, but caught a few episodes in repeats and loved what I saw. I saw that seasons 1 and 2 had come out on DVD and then . . . nothing else. Now they’ve issued the whole series together rather than the rest as individual sets, which is understandably pissing off those who bought the first two seasons. And, frankly, it makes it a bit hard for those of us who would rather just buy a set at a time to get into. We aren’t given the choice, and it’s either boycott or give in. I give in, unless Santa boycotts for me, which is always a very real possibility given the price.

30 Rock (Season 1) – Maybe I was still smarting from losing Arrested Development, I don’t know. I skipped out on this show figuring it wasn’t going to make it – why get attached knowing yet another show was going to be dumped? Well, it made it, and I watched a few episodes here and there from last season and fell in love this season. Now I need to see all of last season. GOT

Home Movies (Seasons 2, 3, and 4) – One of my favorite Adult Swim offerings, I somehow only have season 1 on DVD. Kind of a “cartoon about nothing,” just three kids who like to make their own movies, talking about anything and everything, done in such a casual manner that it sounds like they don’t even script the show (maybe they don’t.)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=re86sOLHIJE&rel=1″>

Flight of the Conchords – We caught an episode of this on HBO in our hotel room in San Diego a few months ago. That was enough to convince me that I needed to see this show in its entirety. Very low-key comedy focusing on the music of a song-writing duo that just can’t seem to get anywhere. GOT

Extras (Season 2) – I’ve seen about two minutes of this show, to be honest. It’s Ricky Gervais, the mastermind of the original BBC version of The Office, so season 1 of this was on my list last year (and I got it.) Unfortunately, I still have yet to actually watch it yet, but that’s not stopping me from putting season 2 on my list. GOT

The Office (Season 3) – I want The Office sets almost as much for the outtakes and extras as for the show itself, regardless of the fact that it’s a can’t-miss show every week.

The Princess Bride (20th Anniversary Edition) – Another “favorite of all time,” and it’s hard to believe it’s 20 years old, this one comes with a bonus disc filled with bonus features, some of which were on last year’s edition (which warrants a mild boo – two editions in a year?!) One of the most consistently funny movies of all time. It never gets old.

Music DVDs

Not much explanation needed, right?

Paul McCartney – The McCartney Years – Videos and concert footage from throughout “the cute Beatle’s” entire solo career. It’s not as comprehensive as you might hope – the concert portion especially, but some of this stuff may never get a full release due to label apathy. GOT

Led Zeppelin – The Song Remains The Same – Remastered and all that, I’ve developed a bit of nostalgia for this goofy concert film with fantasy segments thrown in. The newly expanded live album is astounding, and is probably all I need, but it’s nice to have things like this for those time when you just want to experience it again. I won’t be at all crushed if it’s not under the tree.

The Beatles – Help! – Quaint and charmingly humorous, I saw most of this one night a while back but missed finding out how – or if – Ringo got that ring off his finger and escaped sacrifice at the hands of gypsies, or whatever they were. Strange premise. GOT